


Ripple

by Shadowdianne



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-03-23 00:32:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13775892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowdianne/pseuds/Shadowdianne
Summary: Hear me out... A fic where an AU Emma from S1 falls into a portal and meets Regina of S4/5/6/7 and she’s intrigued by a Regina that actually looks at Emma with love in her eyes. (Somehow seen on twitter; asked by Angela aka SwanQueenSwen over there)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Set in… let’s say at the end of s6 but without s7 and Emma being from the beginning of s2 -the very first chapter- so she knows about magic.

 

 

“We found her in the forest.”

The words escaped Leroy’s mouth in a gruffy tone, clipped almost in a way that made Emma frown as she turned towards the door of the station in where she had been brought in after a rather complicated chat with some of the dwarves. Her hands, still slightly colored from the verdigris that had stained her jeans as well from where she had fallen on, turning into fists as the newcomer revealed to be none other than Regina; black clothing framing her silhouette as she muttered a quick “Thanks” to Leroy in a way that made the blonde almost choke in surprise.

If she hadn’t already spotted some pictures from the desk next to her, pictures the dwarves had quickly hid away from her, she suspected that she would have figured it out that the woman who was now standing in front of her definetely wasn’t the woman she had last seen what had been for her a few minutes ago. The clothing, albeit black and fitted, lacked a sharpness that was Regina’s trademark and her hair was decidedly longer; making her features look different under the sharp lights of the office.

It was her eyes, however, what made Emma’s mind reel as Regina, ever so slowly, approached her with a glint of purple touching her pupils; a spark that made Emma’s hairs at the nape of her neck stand up slightly before realizing that not even Leroy seemed worried about it. She, Emma reflected as she swallowed and puffed her chest out, half expecting to receive a harsh blown from the woman in front of her, looked nothing like the Regina she had needed to protect from the angry mob in front of her mansion and for the second time that evening she wondered once again where she had ended up landing on. Or when.

Not like she knew if time travel actually existed but she supposed that considering how magic existed it could be possible.

“Emma?”

Her name falling from Regina’s lips made the blonde turn her head sharply, surprised to the gentle tone the older woman sported as she, carefully, took a step forward. “Emma.” The blonde let her own tongue round the vowels on her name, surprised to the way Regina said her name; as if she was used to it now instead of the epithets the “other” -as she decided on dubbing- usually called her.

“Emma.” The second time the blonde let out a small hum the woman in front of her seemed to take as an answer. “Which day is it?”

The question alone, the carefulness around her, made the blonde want to snort. Question apparently answered then; she wasn’t stupid, a part of her whispered, the one that was still hurt and angry and still trying to process everything that had happened to her in less than a week.

“I know it’s not the one I think it is.” Her answer was enough for the crease on Regina’s forehead to increase, the bluntness of her words resounding on the now almost empty office since the dwarves had, apparently and discreetly, left.

She momentarily wondered where was she, the other **she** at least. Or why Regina had been the one called instead of Henry, or… the word parents was still too much to bear so she settled with Mary Margaret and David on her mind, the look on their eyes as they had hugged her returning momentarily to her mind before she shook her head.

“Where is everyone?” She asked, her eyes narrowing at the almost hurt flash that coursed through Regina’s eyes before the brunette masked it away. Where they that close? Her mind wondered for a moment but she buried it down, turning towards -her? - desk and sitting on its edge, an almost mirror image of how Regina herself had greeted her not so long ago. For her at least.

“They thought that it would be better if I was the one to… see how were you.”

The terse tone didn’t match with the worry still present on Regina’s eyes and Emma kept feeling dragged to it, the question of “why” resurfacing on her mind. Apparently, Regina could sense the question as well because she smiled slightly before fidgeting with her fingers, raising and lowering her hands in a move that, alone, made Emma frown.

This, she thought, wasn’t the woman who had tried to kill her. Or let her fall into a coma.

“… Henry.”

“He is alright, he is... staying with you.”

It was bizarre, Emma thought, how easily and quickly her mind had apparently set it up on the reality that, apparently, she had traveled into the future. A very strange future.

“You let him stay with me?”

Her tone came out briskly, almost accusatory, slightly disbelievingly and, this time, the regret on Regina’s eyes was unmistakable.

“We both are his mothers.”

That alone didn’t answer Emma’s question but it was telling enough. Emma’s mind reeled with the sudden reality of her and Regina being… friends? Co-parents maybe. Although the care, the softness, was something she had only seen on Regina directed at Henry until now; a care that was usually unanswered and rejected by the tween in the same breath.

“How I know that you are telling me the truth?”

That sparked a small flame of anger, one, however, that was quickly called it off in a way that Emma had never seen on Regina, the fiery, mighty rage that was their usual banter all but being dismissed with one shake of head.

Taking one final stride towards her and standing closer than what Emma suddenly felt comfortable with, Regina tilted her head slightly to her left, the way her eyes seemed to draw Emma’s whole body in making the blonde swallow thickly, hands grasping the edge of the table, the feeling of its surface against her clammy palms not calming at all.

“Am I?”

Not thinking twice Emma emitted a muffled “yes”; it didn’t matter how or why but she could see the truth shining on Regina’s eyes the same way she had searched in them as she asked her if everything, all of the words Henry had been saying, were even true. This time, however, Regina’s eyes didn’t shine with tears but warmth, almost…

Love.

Feeling breathless Emma frowned and moved to her left, breaking the almost contact Regina’s body warmth had with her own. Her chest burnt as well as her cheeks and, for a moment, she took into the almost unchanged station before turning back towards Regina, eyes falling to those still fidgeting fingers before raising to Regina’s eyes, perfectly clear now.

Clearing her throat Regina tucked a rebel strand of her behind her right ear, speaking again in that soft voice that made Emma’s whole body tremble. It was strange, the blonde thought, how  she didn’t feel animosity towards this woman. How… different everything felt between them, or how it would be.

“We will try to send you back as soon as possible.” The sentence woke her up from her reverie.

Frowning, Emma sucked on air, licking on her bottom lip before replying.

“Can’t you do it now? Or Gold?”

She spoke cautiously of that last name; remembering all too well the last time she had talked with him. She didn’t know how time travel worked but she had seen Back to the future enough times to have an idea of what she may not try to dwell on.

Regina, however, didn’t seem fazed by the mention of that name and a part of Emma, another part, a part that took her by surprise, let out a sigh of relief.

“Everything we know is that you seemed to come from a portal… it will take time to find the ripple in time again. It’s not easy.”

Emma found a part of her wanting to point out that magic seemed Regina’s second nature but, feeling a sudden prick on the tips of her own fingers, she decided to let it slide. Fight or hatred was very much absent from the way Regina replied to her questions and so she felt her curiosity growing.

“I just… the mob, at your house.” She blurted and, for a moment, recognition dawned on Regina’s face. One that was quickly replaced by something that could only be described as slight amusement mixed with something else, something Emma couldn’t quite distinguish.

“I should have guessed; your clothes…”

Emma glanced down at herself, at the dirty jeans, well-worn boots and the darkly hued red leather jacket. Nothing out of the ordinary; wasn’t it?

The question on her face was enough to crackle Regina’s face into a smile, one that Emma would have never imagined to be directed at herself.

“It had been some time since you wore those.” It was the only answer she got, one that only brought with her even more questions. What did she wear then? She bit back the question but felt unable to look away from the smile, one open and yet sad in a way Emma found herself wanting to trace or, at least, assuage.

“Do… “Her breath got caught for a moment and she tried again, this time eliciting a small nod from Regina, letting her know she could keep on. “… do I know I’m here?”

Yes, her mind informed her, she was taking everything quite well.

Which was a thought that it seemed to be shared by Regina from the way she blinked, almost impressed, before nodding slowly.

“She was the one who asked me to come.” She added and there again was the pang of pain, so obvious Emma felt herself wonder how was that she hadn’t seen it before. Or what had happened with her own self back at this moment to elicit such response.

Both parts of her mind argued as she took again on Regina’s clothes, on the way the spoke of a softer version of the woman in front of her. Things have changed; that much was clear and considering the way Leroy had acted in front of Regina she wasn’t hated any more.

Was it?

Questions laced her tongue, the most pressing one being how was that Regina kept on looking at her with something akin to loss and care. The word “love” floated on her mind yet again but she dismissed it; the idea raw and far too alien.

Perhaps, she considered for a second, everything was fake and she had simply traveled at some strange realm, maybe even one in where the curse had just kept on existing. She was still quite shaken up from the realization that magic existed; maybe she was making everything up; her mind shutting down due to all the information she had been told in the last few hours.

Or, maybe, just maybe, the woman in front of her was really Regina, some years in the future. She wondered again about the look, the one she had been given the moment the brunette had entered into the room; all worry and warmth. She wondered how.

Licking her lips and squaring her shoulders into the, apparently, now strange jacket she nodded to a question she really hadn’t been asked.

“What do I need to do?”

The question itself, the way she said it, was enough to drag a lopsided smile on Regina’s mouth. One that Emma found herself looking away from. It was strange, she kept on thinking, the easiness with Regina addressed her. Feeling her hands starting to prickle again, she crossed her arms in front of her, muscles protesting, still hurt from the travel through the portal.

Regina let her hands fall at her sides, nodding in an almost business tone that came out strange even.

“Come with me.”

And Emma, Emma who had seen Regina about to get killed by an angry mob, who had just promised Henry that she would protect her, who had just learnt that yes, that woman was, had been, the evil queen, nodded and followed her.

Trust, she thought, complete and utter trust. What had happened between them?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuck as I’m on my parents’ home for a few more hours I decided to take all the free time I could get on these 72 hours I’ve spent with them on writing not further prompts but a few sequels that, contrary to what I usually do, I wanted to do a follow-up. Yesterday I posted the ficlet that added to the fic “Have you heard?” And today is time for this one.  
> I have another sequel half-way prepared for tomorrow (The answer to “And then she looked at me”) so I hope you enjoy the small follow-up. It won’t be a multichapter story, however, but I sort of wanted to dwell a little more on these two in this window.  
> Thank you for having read this lengthy note. I’ll be at the comment section!

 

“I’ve left some clothing for you on top of the bed.” The words, soft, made the blonde jump as she turned off the faucet of the bathroom that suddenly felt far too small for both her and Regina.

Not bothering to dry her fingers but slightly glad that her skin wasn’t stained anymore with the verdigris that had tainted her skin before, Emma studied the brunette as she turned, taking in the quiet, calm, way the other woman carried herself and that flash of what she had finally decided on settling as “loss” ever since the two of them had left the station. Not, she thought while her mouth formed a lopsided smile she was quick to squash, that she had seen a lot of this other Storybrooke. Or anyone else but Regina.

Henry had called at some point as Emma had tried to keep her curiosity at bay. She had seen his name flashing from Regina’s phone screen and she had tensed ever so slightly as the former queen had smiled swiftly at her before picking it up, the deeper voice that had floated towards her from the speaker before the brunette had taken several steps away from her enough to send a chill through Emma’s spine.

How would the kid look? Neal’s face had floated for a second through Emma’s mind but she had dismissed the thought just as quickly; scoffing at her own brain and how her mind had decided on making her think about a man she hadn’t spare a thought on after more than a decade. The thought itself, however, didn’t leave until Regina had finished the call with a warm “I love you” that had made her skin tingle ever so slightly under the buzz she had already been told that was mere magic.

Magic, she now could see it dancing on the back of Regina’s eyes once again. The glow, however, wasn’t accompanied with the spiraling feeling of loss and will of control she had already seen on the other woman not so long ago for her and what had replaced it made her swallow thickly before pointing at the faucet behind her, droplets still sliding down her wrists that kept on pumping that awful prickle.

“It’s a relief knowing you still have running water.” The joke was weak and the bathroom seemed to swallow the sound of her voice even before she stopped talking, a treacherous blush threatening to color her ears. Thankfully, Regina seemed to also be lost on her own world to actually acknowledge her horrendous humor.

Something, Emma briefly thought, that had seemed to be her constant after she had asked what the call was about and the other woman had answered how the other she -the other Emma- had merely wanted to know if everything was alright. The answer had been delivered in a slow tone, almost as if the older woman kept on gauging the weight of each syllable and Emma found herself wondering what kind of woman could she be for Regina to simply be at ease with her.

Not that she didn’t enjoy not being the recipient of any more apple pies of course.

“Thank you for letting me stay.” She finally added, taking a step into the hall room just as Regina did the same. The mansion seemed very different now, the lights and decorations the same and still not really on the way light reflected against the surfaces, giving away a sort of warmth the place hadn’t truly shown the few times Emma had been inside of it. It was puzzling, the blonde thought, teeth digging on her lower lip, how different everything was. How Regina was.

The brunette hadn’t lost its edge. That alone had been made clear the moment Emma had tried to push her luck and let her roam free through Storybrooke. The sharpness of her stare had been enough for Emma to feel as if she hadn’t left at all her own timeline after all. There was something there, however, that made everything feel far too different.

“It’s nothing.”

The reply was just as slow and flat as Emma’s own attempt to make a joke and the green-eyed woman swallowed before she took a step towards the room Regina had already pointed it at her the moment she had led her through the main stairs of the mansion. Henry’s room carefully closed.

Halting-midstep and glancing at the black and now slightly red accented blouse the other woman wore, Emma let out a small puff of air, feeling the prickling yet again in the form of sparks that felt as if biting her insides while she glanced at Regina; at the way she had stopped as well only to look at her.

There was no guarded expression there, Emma thought. There was worry, nervousness even and that strange mix of something she refused to look into. The weariness and burning pride, however, were gone.

“I don’t understand.” She found herself muttering before clearing her throat, looking at Regina while straightening her back as much as possible. She hadn’t let the other woman render her speechless; she wasn’t planning on starting now.  Even if, a part of her mind supplied, that was just as she felt. “Why you.”

Regina’s mouth quivered a little in an almost smile, one that made Emma swallow thickly at. She was more used to incensing smirks and growls, she thought, the sadness that coated every movement the other woman made felt painful, alien. And nothing she would have been able to think Regina would show to her as willingly as she did.

“I already answered you.” There it was, the edge that made Emma remember she wasn’t in a dream; the harshness and practical side the brunette had. “You… she thought that it would be for the best.”

“Are we friends?” The question came out of her unedited, a blurted set of words that left her paling in front of Regina as the brunette chuckled and glanced down before finding her gaze again; a myriad of purple dots gleaming on her eyes.

“You know, that’s almost what I will ask you in a few weeks; if you thought that we were friends.”

It was a whisper, something that felt more like a secret than an answer. One Regina seemed to want to confide in her. Emma didn’t need to ask why the future tense. Her future; her own few weeks. However, the question fell in the open wound of Henry’s coma and she found herself thinking again on every interaction she had had with the woman in front of her; on her own timeline. Would they become friends? Could they?

“Are we?”

She had taken a step forwards, the blonde realized as she exhaled, one hand playing with the buckle of her jeans, the other falling limply at her side, fingers spread on her upper thigh as the buzzing feeling returned, sparks crawling through her. It was an easy question, she reasoned. A simple one. Still, she felt breathless and when Regina stared at her through suddenly dropping eyelids she forgot why she had worried about why she was closer than before to the other woman.

And there was the thing. At her own timeline she could be angry at Regina’s actions, at Regina’s decisions. She could be angry at her even though she felt pulled towards her in a way that she wasn’t entirely sure it wasn’t magical. Here, however, the woman that kept staring at her wasn’t entirely the same. She had more answers than her own Regina; more stories to share.

And a secret; her own future, to hide.

“You will need to ask my other version that question, Emma.” There it was her name again; no sheriff, no deputy; Emma. The blonde narrowed her eyes but nodded, taking a step backwards and feeling lightheaded the moment Regina’s purple magic left her eyes.

It was too much, she thought before nodding sharply, a similar nod she had made that day on the mines, when Regina had stared at her all sharp edges and warm tears only asking her one simple thing; Henry. Similar to that other time Regina watched her as she turned blindly and grasped the room’s handle in one swift motion.

“I’ll be talking to… someone that may know about time jumps tomorrow.” The slight hesitation told Emma that Regina was hiding who that someone was. “I’ll tell you as soon as I know if I can send you back.”

The brunette was already turning towards the stairs when Emma rose her voice, forcing her vocal chords to fold and vibrate in the form of the question she had been thinking about ever since Regina’s eyes had looked at her, a sigh escaping her lips.

“I’m dead, right? This is what this is about.”

She had wondered about it, about the way Regina kept glancing at her, the loss written on her features; a lack of something else fighting to come out. She had thought about on the way Henry’s voice had sounded at the other side of the phone call; worried and on edge. She had wondered at the looks the dwarves shot at each other when they thought she couldn’t see them: uncertainty filled them all.

Regina’s hands on hers startled her, making her stare at the woman who, yet again, was far too close.

“You are not.” She replied earnestly, a protective undertone on each vowel. “I promise you, you are not.”

There was something else there however; something different that made Emma nod and hum; cogs moving as she tried to understand, to see.

“You are not dead.” Regina repeated and this time the tremor on her voice was unmistakable. “You are alive, you…”

She halted, tongue peeking between her lips, eyes so open Emma could see the not stilled purple sparks. She felt weak.

“I will find a way to send you back.” Regina repeated, taking a final step back. In a second she was gone; leaving Emma alone in the middle of a hall room Emma would have considered to be her enemy’s territory not so long ago.

She didn’t dream that night; she couldn’t. Power kept on mounting at the back of her eyes. Asking for something she truly wasn’t sure if she even wanted to see what it was.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all liked it and, remember, comments are greatly appreciated!
> 
> PS: I post prompts both through here on my second pseud -shadowselene- and through tumblr -shadowdianne- come say hi ;)


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